HAS the end of cultural history ever been so much fun? Your humble scribe has been reading Simon Reynolds since his work was a well-kept secret of the British music press. (He was also, during the ‘90s, one of two rock-crit Simons in the Village Voice, the other being the code-cracking rock sociologist Simon Frith.)He’s written with insight and intelligence about rock n roll, subculture, shoegaze, … [Read more...]
Eddie Izzard at the Hollywood Bowl
THE other morning -- it was the 4th of July -- the phone rang. It was Eddie Izzard calling from England. I'd had no caffeine yet. And due to the holiday -- on a Monday no less -- and a kid who'd just gotten out of the emergency room, I'd completely forgotten that he'd be calling.Yikes.But Izzard ended up being a perfect gentleman and we spoke for a while about his career and the figures who'd … [Read more...]
Rockin in 1970
ON Friday I have a New York Times review of an interesting if imperfect new book called Fire and Rain, which looks at the year 1970 and the making of four hugely popular records -- The Beatles' Let it Be, CSNY's Deja Vu, James Taylor's Sweet Baby James and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water.If you love all these artists, by all means pick up David Browne's book. Otherwise -- as I get … [Read more...]
Britain’s "Electric Eden"
THE best of it still sounds as fresh as the day its long-haired practitioners pulled out their mandolins and plugged in the amps: British folk rock is one of the great unsung stories, at least in this country. The new book, Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music, gets at the movement's greatest musicians -- Vashti Bunyan, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Bert Jansch, … [Read more...]
From Nick Drake to Spanish Guitar
READERS of The Misread City know of this blog's fondness for the California-inspired English band The Clientele, who mix elements of British folk-rock with the West Coast pop of Love and The Mamas & The Papas. Since their wonderfully atmospheric and tuneful LP, Bonfires on the Heath, lead singer/guitarist Alasdair MacLean has been wondering about the next right step for his band, and he's now … [Read more...]
British Sea Power invades the West Coast
JUST a quick note to say that I remain convinced that British Sea Power is one of the best live bands from the dreary isle. Your humble blogger has caught the Brighton band on all three of its Los Angeles appearances -- two at Spaceland and now last night's at the Troubadour.The goofy faux-military costumes are gone, but their blend of early '70s Bowie and early '80s is stronger than ever. The … [Read more...]
Is Gen X an Afterthought?
THE new issue of MOJO magazine has a cover story on the 25th anniversary of the Smiths' The Queen is Dead LP, an article on the 20th of Primal Scream's influential Screamadelica record, and another on a reunion tour by Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite.It's a great issue, of course, of our favorite music magazine. But it also feels like the Gen X teenage years have now been fully commodified and sold … [Read more...]
The Beatles in Hamburg — on Record
OF the many great shows your humble blogger attended last year, one of the very finest was a performance by Bambi Kino, a kind of indie-rock supergroup formed to pay tribute to the Beatles ragged, rockabilly-loving years in Hamburg.The show, at Echo Park's Taix, was full of so much energy and musical invention (Guided by Voices' guitarist Doug Gillard was especially inspired that night) it made … [Read more...]
Black Eyes Peas Memoir
Most of America knows that L.A, hip hop band The Black Eyed Peas will perform at the Super Bowl’s halftime show on Sunday. As it happens, one of the group’s rappers, Taboo, will publish his memoir, Fallin' Up: My Story, next week.The book is ghosted by Angeleno Steve Dennis, a Yorkshire native who’s made much of his living ghosting books including a footballer and Lady Diana’s butler. (Not the … [Read more...]
Christopher Isherwood’s LA
LAST night the Hammer Museum held an event about Isherwood's years in LA that included his companion Don Bachardy and and journalist David Kipen. Connection problems keep me from filling this out further, but HERE is the piece I wrote on the British author's years in California, which included a visit to his old house in the Palisades. The story begins: He abandoned a … [Read more...]